Steady Changes
by kodoku na oujo
Summary: Nothing has changed for Gaara. He is still feared and still hated. He fears that nothing will ever change. That things will always remain the same. But... is there a chance that view can be changed? No pairing. Birthday fic.


**Okay, I have to ask this question. Is Gaara's birthday on the 11****th**** or the 19****th**** of January? My Naruto calendar that I bought from Borders said that it's the 11****th****, but almost all of the websites (including Wikipedia, which has been known to lie to me) say it's the 19****th****. Well, I choose the 19****th**** to post this cause I recently went back to school and I've been a little busy readjusting to everything.**

**But I have to thank my friend, Izzy, for helping me come up with this story. I was having such a hard time coming up with an oneshot for Gaara and so, since she loves him, I asked her what kind of story she would want to read. She told me she wanted a story about how he became the Kazekage. Then she started mixing up Kazekage!Gaara with Beauty Pageant!Gaara XD ha, ha. She said she was going to draw that and if she does, I'll put up a link to the picture.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If it was mine, Gaara would not have gained shallow fangirls after he was Kazekage. They don't love him! If you didn't like him when he was psychotic then you don't really love him Dx!!**

**Important: Dedicated to both Gaara, because it's his birthday and he's awesome, and to Izzy, for helping me come up with a story idea ((Thank you :heart:))!!**

* * *

It was morning.

His sleepless eyes could tell that when the first rays of sunlight peeked their way through the blinds.

Subaku no Gaara unfolded his arms and walked slowly over to the sole window in his room, standing before it with his usual stoic expression. His hand reached out and gently tugged down on the string to the blinds that hung from his bedroom window, slowly lifting them up and letting more of the dim sunlight to enter into his dark room.

The empty street of Sunagakure were quiet and still, but Gaara had watched the village wake so often that he knew the many people within it were now just waking and soon the streets would be animated with life. Filled with people going about their daily business, unaware of their silent audience. For it was the same every morning.

And it was a known fact that people were one of the few things that did not change.

Not easily.

At least that is what Gaara believed.

--

"Good morning, Gaara." Kankuro greeted his younger brother as he entered into the redhead's bedroom, a small grin tugging at the corners of his lips. Gaara pulled his green orbs away from the window and its marvelous view, turning his head toward his brother, who lingered in the entrance to his room, once he heard Kankuro's loud and cheerful voice.

"Good morning." The redhead answered, his voice and facial features just as stoic as ever.

It may not have seemed like much of a family moment, but for this particular set of siblings it was quite a step up from their previous relationship. It was not very long ago that the two brothers would constantly be at ends with one another, Kankuro only holding his tongue in fear of his life while Temari, their older sister, tried to ease the obvious tension between them.

Fearing his younger brother.

And the beast within him.

But after Sunagakure was tricked by Orochimaru into aiding the attack on another one of the hidden villages, Konohagakure, the way that the siblings treated and viewed each other had changed dramatically. They had come so far, to the point where a passer-by would not have been able to tell that those three siblings were any different from other brothers and sisters.

A slight change.

But it was a miraculous one nonetheless.

"Any luck sleeping more last night?" Kankuro asked conversationally, still a little uneasy as he spoke to his younger sibling. It was if Kankuro was unsure of how he should go about conveying his concern for the shorter boy before him without alarming the redhead (though he would probably not even notice if Gaara had become uncomfortable since he rarely showed any hint of emotion).

"… No. But I'm used to it." Gaara hesitated.

Kankuro was not the only one whom was slightly nervous about their new relationship. They had, after all, spent years pinned against one another all due to the implication that Gaara was a monster. Nothing more, nothing less. Behavior had become habit and habits were very hard to break.

But they were changing. Steadily, but surely. All three siblings were trying their best to change.

"Well let's go get some breakfast." Kankuro suggested, changing the subject to something else since he felt like he should not pry into his younger brother's sleep deprivation any further. "Temari told me to come get you so that we can all eat."

"All right."

The two brothers exited the redhead's bedroom, Kankuro waiting patiently at the doorframe for his younger brother to leave before he closed the door and lead Gaara down to the kitchen (even though he already knew the way to the kitchen, Kankuro just thought it courteous to do so). When Kankuro entered into the kitchen, Temari looked up to meet her gaze, switching her attention from putting the finishing touches of their breakfast and grinned at her younger brother.

"About time." She said sarcastically. "I thought you might have gotten lost."

"Funny." Kankuro retorted before took a seat at the kitchen table. Temari was about to continue on with their conversation when she noticed her youngest brother enter into the kitchen next, looking just as stoic as ever.

"Good morning, Gaara." Temari said with a smile. Maybe it had been the fact that she had never really fought or been on particularly bad terms with the younger boy that made it easier for her to adjust to their new roles as actual caring siblings. Or maybe Temari was just naturally mature and was able to let the ill-will of yesterday fade away into nothing.

"… Good morning." He said with a bit of hesitance in his voice. Gaara stared at his elder sister for a moment, his green orbs void of any emotion. He found it odd how much Temari could look like the mother who did not want him, and yet she greeted him every morning with a genuine smile filled with honest emotion. Though he could say the same for his brother, Kankuro. He saw so much of the father that thought of him only as a tool, a weapon could have used to his advantage. And yet his older brother was trying so very hard to show him that he cared, even though he was obvious not very good at convey his feelings properly.

"Sit down and eat some breakfast." Temari said as she turned her focus back to grab two the two plates she had prepared for her brothers. When she set down a plate at an empty chair, Gaara slowly made his way over to the table and quietly took his seat and then mumbled a small word of thanks for the meal. Kankuro did the same, only a little bit louder than his younger brother, before he dug into the food place before him.

"Good job, Temari." He said with his mouth still full with food. "It's actually edible."

"Shut up." Temari retorted. "If you don't like it, make your own damn food."

Kankuro laughed at the fact that he was so easily able to set off the blonde girl's temper. It had always been one of Temari's faults and it seemed as if it would always be one. Because things hardly ever changed. Or at least that's what Gaara believed.

"I have to get going." Temari announced as she finished cleaning up in the kitchen. "Don't you guys get into any trouble today."

"Yeah, yeah." Kankuro mumbled around a piece of food in his mouth, only halfway paying attention to his sister and what she had to say to both him and his younger sibling beside him.

"I'm serious, Kankuro. I'll be on a mission and I'm not sure when I'll be back." The blonde warned her brother, green eyes narrowing in her irritation when the brunette did not response seriously.

"All right. I got it." Kankuro huffed as he turned slightly in his chair to look back at his elder sister, a scowl set in place on his face as he spoke. Temari scoffed at her brother's tone, but let it slide, considering he actually listened to her for once and acknowledge what she had to say. She let out a sigh and then said goodbye to her brothers once again before the blonde finally left the house and set out on her way.

There was a silence between the two brothers.

Gaara was never one to start useless conversation and Kankuro was no good with talking to his younger brother, the very idea of him no longer needing to fear the redhead still new in his mind. The brunette easily took the food in front of him as a perfect way of avoiding conversation and chose to remain in complete silence as he ate.

But the calm was interrupted before Kankuro could finish off the food Temari had made for both him and his younger brother.

"I think I want to go for a walk." The redhead stated as he rose from his chair, his plate of half eaten food in hand, and walked over to the sink the dispose of the scraps. Kankuro laughed in his head, thinking that Gaara must not really care for Temari's cooking, but did not have the heart to tell the poor blonde that she was awful at it. The older boy let that amusing thought pass when his brother's words finally penetrated his skull and sunk in.

"Eh?" he articulately responded as his head turned to face the redhead behind him. "A walk? Erm…" he paused for a second before an idea crossed his mind. "I… I'll go with you. I don't have anything to do today."

"…" Gaara looked up at his brother's excited face and remained silent for a moment or two.

The lack of response from the younger male made Kankuro feel uneasy, as if Gaara was secretly dreading the idea and was stalling to think up a good excuse to get away from him. As much as the brunette wished to believe that ridiculous idea untrue, he could not help but let his mind wander to the worse possible situation in the eerie silence that filled the kitchen.

"Okay." the redhead finally replied, his face still as emotionless as ever.

"R-Really?" Kankuro stammered. "You want me to come?"

"You said you wanted to go, so I won't stop you from joining me." Gaara spoke as if the logic behind his answer was terribly obvious. "Besides… I wouldn't mind the company." He added on, as his green orbs drifted away from his older brother.

A true smile found its way onto the older boy's face before he also sat up from his seat and walked over to the redhead at the sink. He dumped his plate into sink without bothering to remove the leftover food, causing a loud clank to fill the room and destroy the silence that had begun to settle in the kitchen yet again. The loud noise gained Kankuro his brother's attention once again. He stared down at the redhead with a large grin still in place on his lips and said, "All right. Let's go."

The two brothers left the house and began their slow pace along the streets of Sunagakure. Neither of them spoke to one another, even though they were walking practically shoulder to shoulder, and instead chose to engulf themselves in the sights and sounds around them.

No more than five minutes into the walk, Gaara felt something bump into his ankle, causing the redhead to stop dead in his tracks and look down at the object around his heels. His green eyes widen a small fraction as he noticed it was a small hand woven ball that had collided with his foot(1).

He slowly reached down to pick up the small toy and then held it gently in his hands, his eyes staring at the intricate designs that covered the ball. His attention was pulled away from the ball when a small group of children ran up to him, but stopped suddenly when the redhead came into their view. From the scared glimpse in their eyes, Gaara knew only too well that they, along with most of the villagers, were frightened of him.

Like they had always been.

He said silent as he held out the ball to the children, making them tense from the sudden movement from the redhead boy in front of them. The young children whispered amongst themselves, their eyes never leaving Gaara's form. "Take it." He said softly, finding a small ounce of courage to speak to the scared children. They remained silent, as if they were stunned by the fact that he had spoken to them. "… It's your ball, isn't it?" he tried again, stretching his arms out further to hand the ball to kids in front of him.

None of the children seem willing or capable of moving from where they stood. Gaara's lips twitched down subtly into a frown.

They people, even the children, of his village still feared and despised him. Things never changed.

Suddenly, a young boy stepped forward from the small group of kids and took a few steps toward Gaara. His friends cried out whispered protests to the brave boy, but the child did not listen. The redhead's green eyes widened as the child walked up to him and cautiously took the ball from his grasp, offering a nervous smile to the taller boy before he ran away back to his group of friends.

As Gaara watched the small group of kids run away, most likely to continue playing with their hand woven ball before it had rolled away and caused it to strop momentarily. He was soon pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar voice calling to him.

"Gaara!" his brother said as he walked to the redhead's side. "I'm sorry. I thought you were still walking with me. I didn't notice that you had stopped."

"…" Gaara turned to look over at the brunette beside him, still slightly consumed by the shock the previous event had placed on him. "It's all right. Let's go." He said and then continued walking with his older brother along the busy street of Sunagakure.

They two of them did not stop walking until they had somehow managed to find their way amongst the mountains that lay along the outskirts of Sunagakure. Gaara walked up close to the edge of the cliff and stared out at the setting sun. He had not realized it, but he and Kankuro must have been walking for quite some time.

He stared silently out at the sun, the large yellow orb slowly fading into a deep orange. It was quite peacefully here and the silence that had settled between his and his older sibling made it all the more calming.

But Gaara soon interrupted that peace.

"I want to become the next Kazekage."

Kankuro stared at his younger brother's back, mouth slightly gaped open from the sudden proclamation made by the redhead. He cleared his throat and took a cautious step forward. "I don't to have to say this, but people think of you only as 'a frightening weapon.'" He took another step closer to his brother, his fists hanging at his sides, clenching and unclenching as he spoke. "To leave your siblings and to just go get this new goal out of the blue like this… It'll be hard, man."

Gaara clenched his jaw, setting his mouth into a scowl as he listened to his older brother criticize his ambition. He tried his best to hold his tongue, keeping in mind that his sibling was only worried about his well-being.

"The superiors don't think much of you anyway…." Kankuro paused, knowing what he was about to say may still be a touchy subject with the redhead. "When it comes to you, the majority of the village is embraced with fear."

Ever so slightly, Gaara's expression changed from that of annoyance and anger to one that showed his true anguish, revealing how much the villager's scorn and fear truly affected him in his youth and how it still affected him today.

He remained silent for a moment longer before he finally felt brave enough to answer Kankuro.

"I know… But by just waiting, I get attack by an even greater anguish."

The brunette looked shocked at his brother's confession. He had not realized how much Gaara was still tormented by the villagers and the hatred of him.

"All one can do is create his own path through hard work." The phrase sounded familiar to Kankuro, but he chose to keep silent and let his brother continue on with his speech. "Without being a loner and taking the easy route. So someday, maybe I'll… be like…"

Gaara trailed off, his voice losing volume until Kankuro could no longer hear him, even though the older boy was only a meter or so away from him. He waited for another moment, hoping that his brother would continue on with something else, but the silence was becoming unbearable. Something needed to be said. When he went to speak, his younger brother finally spoke up once again, his voice finding the will to obtain the same volume he had beforehand.

"So that's why I, as one of Suna's shinobi, aim to Kazekage. To bond and live with this village."

"… Gaara." Kankuro muttered, astonished at the words slipping from the redhead's lips. He could not shake the feeling of guilt for his younger brother. Kankuro understood how difficult it would be for his little brother to get anywhere close to his new dream. The village of Sunagakure did not seem like they would be willing to change any time soon and accept a boy they once deemed a monster and a threat to the village's very safety.

"Through hard work, I want to be respected by everyone. I got that after seeing Uzumaki Naruto." Now things made sense. It was all that kids doing that brought about this change in Gaara. No wonder he felt as if he had heard those very same words somewhere before. "But up until now… bonds with others… have been nothing but an annoyance to the point I would want to kill. But for him to go so far as to say 'What's the deal with bonds?!'"

Gaara lifted his gaze up, relishing in the beautiful colors that painted the sky. His eyes softened as he studied how the glorious golden ring that was placed around the setting sun steadily faded into orange, then red, and then finally to deep, dark blue. Such a wondrous sight was still so interesting to him, even after he had seen the same sun day after day after day.

His joy for watching the sun set had not changed.

But now a setting sun had taken on a deeper meaning to him.

"Now… There's something that I understand a little better." Kankuro kept silent, his expression caught between shock and concern and his arms still hanging at his sides, but now they seemed as if they were permanently clasped into tight fists. "Hate, sadness and even happiness… To be able to share it with another person. Uzumaki Naruto…" Gaara paused, almost as if he was reliving memories just from the mention of the blonde's name. "From fighting with him, I learned that."

It had been the start of his change. That random chance meeting with that certain blonde-haired ninja.

"He knew pain like I did. And then, he taught me that you can change that path." Gaara continued on. His voice subtly gaining volume as his courage and determination grew. "I wish one day, that I can be needed by someone. Not as a frightening weapon."

There was another short pause. The redhead took this time to once again enjoy the everyday beauty of the sunset, the golden yellow sun sinking further and further into the horizon. Kankuro waited anxiously as he awaited his brother's words. Like the redhead's speech had dragged him in and now left him on edge while he anxiously wait for the final part of the awe-inspiring words.

Right when the brunette felt as if his brother was never going to finish his thoughts, he saw something miraculous happen.

A small smile came to his younger brother face.

"But as Suna's Kazekage."

--

It was morning.

His sleepless eyes could tell that when the first rays of sunlight peeked their way through the blinds.

Subaku no Gaara unfolded his arms and walked slowly over to the sole window in his room, standing before it with his usual stoic expression. His hand reached out and gently tugged down on the string to the blinds that hung from his bedroom window, slowly lifting them up and letting more of the dim sunlight to enter into his dark room.

"Hey." Kankuro greeted his younger brother with a smile. Gaara pulled his attention away from the window and turned his head toward his brother, the brunette ninja still lingering in his doorway. "Good morning… Kazekage."

A warm smile made its way onto his face. "Good morning." He answered, but this time his voice held much more emotion and sincerity than it did before.

It was a change.

And it had taken time.

But no matter what was said, it had happened. Slowly. Ever so slowly. But if there was one thing that Gaara had learned it was change was inevitable. Though it may seem as if things will never alter or vary, they will. Eventually they will.

For change is a slow and steady process.

--

(1) This is half a reference to what happened to Gaara as a child and to my newly found knowledge that "Temari" is the name of those hand woven balls that children play with. Interesting, ne? But it's mostly the former. The Temari thing was just something I came across randomly.

* * *

**Wasn't it cute? I think so. I'm so happy that my friend doesn't want to share Gaara with anyone but herself. That's how she came up with this plot idea. I had asked her, when she was thinking, if she had a favorite Gaara pairing and she told me she'd rather have him all to himself. So that's why this birthday fic didn't lead to Gaara smut XD ha.**


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